Another Day Gone
by Ink and Poison
Summary: Charlotte and Joshua were on their own. Brother and sister against the world of the undead. After escaping a brutal attack by the first group of survivors they met out on the road, will they be able to trust this new group of people they bump into on Interstate 85? Daryl/OC.
1. Chapter 1: Apocalypse Please

**Hey guys! So I know juggling two stories at the same time might be a bit difficult, but I had this chapter on my laptop just waiting to be published AND today was The Walking Dead's Mid-Season Finale for Season 5 so BAM! I decided to finally post it! I know, I take FOREVER to update chapters for "It's In Our Blood" but maybe you would enjoy this story as well?**

**Let me know what you all think, feedback is always welcomed! All I ask of you is to be kind with your words.  
**

**This chapter is titled "Apocalypse Please" by Muse.**

**I do not own The Walking Dead.**

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It was a scorching hot day. The sun beamed bright in the sky as it shone down through the tree's branches. _Lucky us_. Charlie thought to herself as she dragged her legs, trying to keep the same steady pace as her brother's. The sound of twigs snapping and leaves being crushed beneath their feet were the only sound she could hear in the silent and still woods.

"The highway should be up ahead." her brother announced, not bothering to glance back at her. This was about the 5th time he said this, and he was getting on her nerves.

"Are you sure, Joshua? Maybe we've been heading the wrong direction this entire time." She heaved, taking in a slow breath before exhaling. She stopped beside a tree, trying to catch her breath. "Damn it!" the young women growled as she lifted her hand to wipe away the bead of sweat forming on her forehead. She tried to push her brown hair away from her face, but it fell back into it's original position. This only upset her more. "Why does it have to be so damn hot?" she complained, forcing her legs to keep marching forward.

"After living in the south for three years, I would've thought you would get use to this weather." He teased, taking long strides and easily catching up with his younger sister. "It isn't that bad." He readjusted the heavy backpack he was carrying over his shoulders, groaning as his back throbbed.

"Says **you**. You've lived out here longer than I have. You know California never gets this hot. Not by the beach, anyway." She walked beside Joshua, trying to mimic his pace. She couldn't help but smile when she thought about the beach. She had loved sneaking out of her parents' beachfront house in the middle of the night and listen to the waves crash against the sand. It was the only thing she missed about the Golden State.

"Do you think our parents-" she was cut off.

"Don't start." Joshua stopped in his tracks to face her, his bright hazel eyes stared into her green ones. "Doesn't matter if they survived or not, they were dead to me long before any of this shit happened." He tried to keep his voice from rising, but the harshness in his words still made his sister flinch. When she didn't respond, he let out deep sigh, brushing his hair away from his eyes. "Charlie..."

"No, I'm sorry." she shook her head, giving him a weak smile. "It was stupid of me to even bring them up." She walked passed him and continued down the trail. Joshua took a quick glance around them, inspecting their surroundings, before deciding to follow behind Charlie.

She wasn't sure how long they had been walking in silence, but she suddenly stopped when she heard a faint noise. She wiped her head back toward her brother, eyes wide. "Do you hear that?" Joshua jerked to a sudden stop, staring at the ground as he stood still. After a few seconds, he looked up at her, gently shaking head. "I swear, I heard an engine just now." She started to walk off again, quickening her pace, trying not to trip over herself.

"I didn't hear anything, Charlie. Maybe you just imagined it." He jogged up to her, easily following in her step. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"I heard something, Josh! It was faint, but I heard it!" She took off, sprinting passed dozens of trees. She could hear Joshua call out to her, telling her to stop, but she ignored him. She tried to run as fast as she can, trying to find the source of the sound she was desperate of finding, but after just a few seconds, she stumbled down to the ground. She let out a cry, having landed on her injured shoulder.

"Damn it, Charlotte! Are you alright?!" Joshua appeared next to her, kneeling down to her level. She groaned as he wrapped a hand around her arm, making her lean against the closest tree. She shut her eyes tightly; the pain seared through her collarbone. "What the hell were you thinking running off like that?" he scolded her as he moved his hand up, gently tugging her tshirt off her shoulder, revealing worn out bandages. She winced.

"No blood. Your stitches must still be in tact." He examined, sighing. There was no point in nagging at her, it never helped. She was stubborn, no doubt about that, because so was he. The two siblings always bumped heads, but once they hit the road, running away from those **things**, they were all each other had left.

Charlie leaned her head back onto the tree, grinding her teeth together until the pain seized. The longer she sat there, the more frustrated she got. She hated feeling weak. "Let's just keep going." She started to get up, but her brother's hand gently shushed her back down.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked. His voice was quiet, almost as if he was apologizing to her for what happened before.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm sure. We need to find the highway. Or...some sort of shelter before dusk." Joshua stared at her for a second, not completely believing her, but he helped her up anyway. He reached down to grab the backpack Charlie had been carrying, toppling it over his own. With the help of her brother, they began their march through the woods again.

It didn't take very long for them to reach some thick shrubs. They both came to a halt and glanced over to each other before storming through the bushes. When their feet met the pavement, Charlie felt as though they had finally made process from their long journey through the woods. For a moment, she was overjoyed; happy to finally be able to encounter something that had felt so normal and familiar to her just weeks ago. Her smile faltered at the scene in front of her.

The interstate was filled with abandoned cars, toppled and smashed against each other. Even from a short distance away, Charlie spotted empty bottles of water, scattered clothing and trails of blood everywhere. She felt sick to her stomach. "Come on. Let's see if we can find anything here." She followed Joshua to the cars, taking slow steps toward them. He glanced back at her, dug into one of the bags, and pulled out a knife, handing it to her. "Keep it close, like I taught you."

Charlie had reverse grip on the dagger, the blade facing away from her body as she held it close to her chest, ready to attack anything that came in her way. "Water, food, and anything else you think can be useful." Joshua handed her the lightest backpack. She tried to look further down the road, but the endless amount of cars limited her sight. "Let's make this fast. We have a lot of ground to cover." He nodded and disappeared behind some cars.

She decided to scout ahead on her own, being the fastest of the two. She passed by the cars, one by one, until a small blue vehicle caught her attention; the sunken face of a decayed corpse stared at her behind a dirty window, covered in dry blood. Charlie quickly looked away, nauseated by the stench that was creeping out from it.

She moved onto the next car, a vacant one. She peered into the back seat before yanking on the door handle, it creaked open. She took a wary look around, searching for anything that might help for her journey. Looking under the car seats, she noticed a long, dark colored rod hiding underneath a magazine. _A flashlight?_ She pulled it out. It was made out of black steel, making it a bit heavier than what Charlie would have liked it to be. She clicked it on, the bright white light indicated that it must have been new. _Nice._ she thought to herself, turning it back off and stuffing it into her bag.

Finding nothing else other than clothes and empty food cans, she moved onto the next car. An old SUV. She opened the passenger door, digging into the glove compartment. Behind a dozen papers, she found empty medicine bottles and a zippo lighter next to a half empty pack of cigarettes. The lighter would come in handy and she wasn't much of a smoker, but she shoved the pack into her pocket anyway before continuing her search. Food wrappers and more clothing scattered the floor. _On to the next car. _She hopped out of the vehicle, turning back to glance at the backseat one more time to make sure she didn't miss anything.

"Who the hell are you?" her stomach dropped. She swirled around, coming face to face with a crossbow. Without moving, she looked up to the pair of blue eyes that stared hard at her. He aimed his weapon directly at her chest. "**Who the hell are you?"** he repeated himself, keeping his stance.

She felt numb. She was trapped between a car and this man; if she ran, he would surely attack her without hesitating. Joshua was no where to be found. She didn't know what to do. "Drop it." he nodded to her hand, noticing her dagger. She held it tighter, her hand shaking. From the tight grip or the fear she felt? Charlie didn't know. She didn't move, but continued to stare at the stranger, his icy blue eyes glaring down at her.

She heard a click and looked over the man's shoulder; Joshua held his gun to the back his head. "**You** drop it. **Right ****now.**" her brother hissed, his voice dark and low. The blue-eyed man slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder, his crossbow still aimed toward Charlie.

"That ain't a smart idea. Pull that trigger? Ya gonna attract some unwanted attention. From my group **and** from walkers." he spat at Joshua. His group? That meant he wasn't alone. _Walkers? Is that what he calls them?_ Charlie nervously looked at the two men; neither of them standing down.

"Josh..." she whispered, not wanting the men to jerk in response and pull their weapon's trigger. A sudden movement caught the corner of her eye. Just a few cars down the road, she recognized the slow, silent movements. She spotted not only one, but an entire group of corpses heading their way. "Josh!" she said with urgency. "Those **things** are coming!"

The two men turned their head to where Charlie was gazing at, and surely enough, the "walkers" were making their way toward them. "Shit!" the blue eyed man exclaimed, dropping his crossbow, for which Charlie was grateful for. It wasn't until the man walked away from her that she realized she had been holding her breath the whole time. She stared at him as he crouched behind the nearest car and looked back at the siblings. "I suggest if ya don't want to be eaten alive, find a place to hide." He hissed at them before disappearing.

"Wait-" Charlie began to say before her brother grabbed onto her, preventing her to advance towards the stranger's direction.

"No, don't go after him." He knew what she was thinking when she stared back at him. They didn't have any time to waste, especially not with those walking corpses around the corner. He shook his head at her. "Get under the car, **now.**" He grabbed onto her shoulders, trying not to hurt her injured one, and pushed her down.

She dropped down to her knees, then down onto her stomach and crawled underneath the car that just moments before she had been scavenging in. As soon as she was in hiding, Joshua ran to the nearest truck and quickly rolled under it. They both laid on their backs, weapons drawn to their sides, ready to be used.

Just a few seconds of stillness passed before Charlie could hear them coming. She could SMELL them coming. Her body froze when the first walker made its way passed the car, then came the second and third. Multiple corpses made their way passed them and it took all of Charlie's might to stop herself from gagging.

The more time passed, the more she worried about the blue eyed man. Did he seek shelter for himself? Was he okay? And what about the group that he mentioned? If they were nearby, they surely must have come across those walkers too. She didn't hear the walkers make any fuss as they stumbled away, so maybe everyone on the highway was safe.

Charlie waited until there was complete silence before peeking her head out from under car, looking up and down the road so make sure the walkers were gone. Joshua rolled out from under the truck and quickly helped pull his sister out from under the vehicle. "Where did that guy go?" He peered into the near by cars, trying to see where his previous threat was hiding. He quickly dismissed his search. "We should run. We don't know what that guy is up to."

Charlie stared off into the direction where the undead disappeared to, her heart racing. "No," she sighed roughly. "A big group like that? If we wonder off into the woods, one of them might spot us." Her head turned to look down the road, instantly frowning as the man that had popped up on them before hadn't appeared yet. "We stay and search for supplies." She ignored Josh as he gave her a stern look and stepped away from him, gripping her dagger tightly in her hand. Her brother followed closely, ready to lift his hand gun at any moment.

Just as she was about to walk past a car that was turned over on its side, Charlie heard a groan. She held her knife close to her, hoping she wouldn't have to use it. She glanced back at her brother, waiting to get an approved nod before she stepped forward. She jumped out, ready to swing her knife, but came to a halt and gasped. The man they encountered a short while ago was kneeling in front of a dark skinned man, his shirt was completely stained with blood.

"Oh shit." She heard Joshua mutter when he made his way around her, staring down at the guys in front of them. "Was he bitten?" Joshua asked as he noticed the two walkers that lied down next to them.

"Nah, he must 'ave slit his arm open with broken glass or somethin'..."As he wrapped a red bandana around the man's forearm, his blue eyes looked up to them. "Are ya going to just stand there or what?" He tightened the bandana, causing the injured man to groan in pain.

Without giving a glance at her brother, Charlie slipped her knife into her belt and leaned down next to the blue eyed man. "Here, let me do it." She offered, taking the bandana from him. She tried to secure the entire wound, but she was going to need more than this small cloth to do the job. "He needs stitches, but this should stop the bleeding for now."

As she was about to make one last tug, they heard a faint scream. "Shit!" The stranger rose to his feet, trying to see past all the cars to find the source of the sound. "We gotta go." He turned to Joshua, nodding toward the wounded man. "Help me with him." He swung his crossbow over his shoulder and leaned down to hoist his friend up.

Joshua looked at Charlie, silently asking her if they should help the two men. Charlie didn't hesitate to urge him on. "Come on. Let's go." Her brother was quick on his feet. After getting the man to stand, they slowly made their way down the road. One step after another, Charlie's heart raced faster and faster. She didn't know what they were getting themselves into but they couldn't just let this man bleed to death.

They made their way around one last car before Charlie spotted a group of people huddled together by the guardrail. _This is his group? _Her heart stopped when a young man from the group turned around, spotting them. "Daryl!" The group all turned their heads toward their direction. Her heart was about to burst through her chest.

"Glenn! T-Dog is hurt bad!" The blue eyed man, whose name was apparently Daryl, had shouted at the approaching Asian man.

"Oh, shit." The young man, Glenn, exhaled. He stared at Charlie and Joshua. "Who are these people?"

"That don't matter right now, we have to get him to the RV!" Daryl growled.

Glenn quickly threw T-Dog's arm over his shoulder as he helped Daryl walk him into the nearby RV. Just as Charlie was about to follow them in, she was cut off by a tall, dark eyed man. Joshua pulled his sister back behind him, shielding her from the stranger.

"Who are you?" Was all he asked, taking a strong stance between them and the vehicle.

They stood silent, before one of them decided to speak. "My name is Joshua." He nodded his back toward Charlie's direction. "This is my sister, Charlotte." The man stood there, staring at the siblings with his hand tightly holding onto his shotgun. "We bumped into your guys up the highway. We couldn't just let the man bleed out..."

"Can you help T-Dog?" A dark haired women appeared behind them, a worried look on her face.

"I can try." Charlie whispered, hoping they didn't notice her quivering voice.

The woman looked up to the tall man. "Shane, let them through."

"Lori!" he hissed at the woman. "We don't know these people!"

"T-Dog is hurt! If they can help him, then we NEED them."

Shane sighed, looking over at the rest of his group; their attention caught between the woods and the situation with the new people that had appeared. He looked back up, giving a hard stare to Joshua. "That man in there? He won't hesitate to kill either one of you if you try to make a wrong move." He hesitantly stepped aside, allowing them to walk into the RV.

"You alright, T-Dog?" Glenn asked while he was dug through all the cabinets, trying to find anything that he thought would be useful while Daryl tightened the bandana. T-Dog's eyes had began to glisten.

"Just hurry up! We can't have him bleeding everywhere!" Daryl growled at the young man, making his move faster.

"Apply some more pressure on his arm, Josh." Charlie said, throwing her backpack down to rush over and help Glenn. "Bandages, tape, gauze...find anything that we can dress his arm with."

Just as Charlie was beginning to clean T-Dog's arm, she was startled by a sudden shout. "Damn it!" Shane stormed into the RV, earning the attention of everyone who was inside it. "Glenn, Daryl! We need to go out and find Rick. It's been way too damn long."

"Whatcha mean 'find Rick'? Where the hell did he go?" Daryl asked, sounding annoyed.

It took a second for Shane to respond. "Sophia ran into the the woods, trying to get away from two walkers. Rick ran after her. They aren't back yet."

"Shit." Daryl leaned over the table to reach for his crossbow. "Don't let him die." He plainly stated to Charlie before making his way out.

"Dale is the owner of this RV. He will be right outside if you need anything." Shane said as he turned around to follow Daryl.

"And let me guess...he's won't hesitate to kill us too?" Josh called out, earning a hard stare from Shane.

"Let's go, Glenn!" he ignored Josh's comment and left.

"Shane could be a pain in the ass, but he means well." Glenn explained to the siblings. He looked nervous as he spoke to them. "Just please, take care of him?" He asked in a gentle voice, earning a nod from both Joshua and Charlie.

"Of course." The young man walked out.

Once no one else entered the RV, Joshua figured they would be left alone to tend to T-Dog's arm. "You okay with this?" His voice was gentle, almost scared to ask. But Charlie merely nodded her head and gave her full attention to the bleeding man.

"I-I didn't see those bastards coming." T-Dog stammered out, wincing as Charlie cleaned his wound. "We're good people." He couldn't say a full sentence without letting out a groan. "Thanks...for this."

"Save your energy, just rest." T-Dog nodded his head, sighing as he laid his head down on the nearest pillow.

Charlie had finished bandaging T-Dog's arm by the time Glenn and Shane had come back to the highway, without Daryl or the other people they had spoke of earlier. Joshua was worried about being surrounded by a bunch of strangers, but after talking to T-Dog, Charlie felt a bit more at ease.

They made their way out of the RV, catching the end of the group's conversation. "I'm still freaked out by that herd that passed us by." A blonde women said while opening a bottle. "Or whatever you'd call it." She took a sip of water.

"Yeah, what was that? All of them just marching around like that?" chimed Glenn.

"A herd." Shane thought it over for a second. "That sounds about right." Charlie noticed the small smile that appeared on the blonde's face. "We've seen it. The night camp got attacked. Just some wondering pack, just fewer." _So this had happened to them before?_ Shane caught Charlie's stare and immediately straightened up, clearing his throat. "Okay. C'mon, people. We still got a lot to do." He walked by everyone. "Let's stay on it. Let's go, C'mon." Glenn followed behind him.

"How's T-Dog?" A small, blue eyed boy appeared by Charlie's side. She smiled at the boy, opening her mouth to answer him when Lori came rushing toward them.

"Hey, why don't you go help Dale, huh?" She gently pushed him away. "Go on." The boy gave one more glance at Charlie before he did what he was told. _I guess the whole 'Don't talk to strangers' thing still applies, even after the world ends. _"How is he?" Lori nodded toward the RV, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

Josh leaned against the RV, leaving Charlie to explain what was going on with their friend. "Well..." she started off. "I tried to clean his wound the best i could, but he needs stitches. I don't have any supplies."

"Are you a nurse?" she asked.

Charlie shook her head. "No, but..." she licked her lips, suddenly thirsty. "Our grandmother was. She taught me everything she knew."

Lori gently nodded her head. "Well, thank you. We really appreciate it." She handed them both a water bottle, to which they were extremely grateful. "I'm Lori Grimes."

"Charlotte O'Connell. This is my brother, Joshua." They shook hands.

"That's my son, Carl. And that's Dale, Andrea, Carol, and I believe you've already met Glenn and Shane."

"We have." Josh mumbled, but immediately straightened up when Charlie sent him a glare. She knew her brother didn't like Shane's attitude toward them, but what else could they expect? You can never be too careful with strangers. The siblings had to learn the hard way. Charlie's shoulder began to sting.

"We heard that some of your people are out in the woods?" Charlie asked, choosing her words carefully.

Lori looked down at the ground as she responded. "Yes. Carol's daughter was running away from two walkers and she disappeared into the woods. My husband Rick ran after her and now Daryl is out there too." She breathed out, looking quite exhausted.

"I'm sure they'll find her." Joshua spoke up, sounding just as exhausted as Lori. "Anything we can help with?" Lori gave them both a weary look.

Charlie sighed. "Lori, we might not have met under the best circumstances, but I can assure you that my brother and I aren't here to cause you or your group any trouble. It'll be getting dark soon and there is no way in hell we're going to be able to find shelter. So we're stuck on the highway with you for the night. We might as well earn a little trust or else none of us will be able to get any sleep tonight."

Lori stared at Charlie for second before nodding her head. "You're right." She gave them a tired smile. "It's the least we can do after you helped T-Dog. Find supplies for yourselves. There's nothing much for us to do but wait until my husband gets back. Just...stay close." She walked away.

Charlie and Josh stuck together while they searched through more cars. More empty water bottles and trash. After getting nowhere with finding supplies, they started emptying out a truck just a few ways away from Dale's RV, deciding that it was where they would sleep for the night.

"Do you trust them?" Joshua asked his sister, throwing his backpack in the passenger seat as he laid down on the backseats.

Since Charlie was smaller than her brother, she was able to stay comfortable in the driver's seat. She bit her lip as she stayed silent for a moment. "I can't say that I **trust** them, but I don't think they're bad." She looked back at their brother. "They're not savages."

"That redneck shoved his crossbow in you're face! And don't get me started on that asshole with the shotgun." Joshua hissed.

"You would do the same. And that Shane guy..." _He IS an asshole._ "Seems like Lori can stop him from barking. Everyone else seems okay. So we should be fine until tomorrow." When Joshua didn't respond, she knew exactly what he was thinking. She let out a tired sigh. "It won't happen again, Josh. We're safe."

"It won't happen again." He repeated, immediately sitting up. "Come on, let's go try to find some supplies. There has to be SOMETHING in those cars."

The sky was a mix of orange and purple as the sun began to set. They didn't find much, just as they had suspected. Before turning in for the night, Charlie and Joshua decided to meet up with the rest of the group.

That's when the siblings found the group of strangers huddled near the highway's guardrail. As they walked closer, they saw Daryl and yet another person they had yet to meet. _That must be Lori's husband._

"You didn't find her." Carol said. It was more of statement than a question. It sent a shiver down Charlie's spine.

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't just leave my daughter out there on her own! To spend the night alone in the woods!"

"Out in the dark's no good." Daryl's rough voice interrupted Carol. "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost."

Whatever Daryl said didn't matter to her. "But she's **twelve**!" Hearing this made Charlie look at her brother, who was staring blankly at the ground. "She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?"

"I know this is hard." Rick said, raising his hand in the pursuit of calming her down. "But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she's out there"

"And we tracked her for a while." Daryl interrupted again, trying to ensure that her daughter was still alive.

"We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."

"Is that blood?' Carol started to hyperventilate.

"We took down a walker."

This only seemed to make it worse. "Walker? Oh my god." The mother's voice cracked.

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia."

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked.

Giving her a weary look, Rick couldn't answer. He looked over to Daryl, silently asking him to answer her. "We cut the son of a bitch open. Made sure."

Carol's knees gave out as she slowly sat down on the guardrail with Lori sitting beside her. "Oh, God." She exhaled. Her blue eyes stared up at Rick. "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?" She tried to hold back her tears.

"Those two walkers were on us." He defended himself, leaning down toward the crying mother. Lori held Carol's shoulders. "I had to draw them off. It was her best chance."

"Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane stated, trying to show her the reason behind Rick's actions.

"How was she suppose to find her way back on her own. She's just a child." Rick leaned down on one knee, covering his face with one of his dirt covered hands. "She's just a **child.**"

Rick was now down on both of his knees, his face was filled with hurt. "It was my only option. The only choice I could make." His voice quivered. Charlie felt horrible. It was clear to her that he had done the best he could to ensure both his AND the little girl's safety.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane said, saying what Charlie was thinking.

Carol continued to sob. "My little girl got left in the woods."

Everybody stood there, completely silent. What were they to do? It was true. This little girl was lost. How could they be sure if she was alive or dead? Rick suddenly stood up, avoiding everyone's gaze as he walked off, down the highway. Charlie was sure he hadn't noticed them standing behind the group.

"Come on." Lori escorted Carol into the RV, her soft cries barley audible.

"Let's turn in for tonight. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Try to get some rest." Shane announced. He walked toward Charlie, sighing before looking down at her. "Lori told me you were going to stay close by for the night?" Charlie hesitantly nodded her head. "Don't get too comfortable." He gave one hard stare at Joshua before walking to wherever Rick wondered off to.

"That guy has some nerve." Josh huffed, turning around to walk toward the truck they claimed.

"Are you guys staying on the highway tonight?" Glenn had walked up to them.

Charlie took a quick glance at her brother, who was just out of earshot. "Yeah, we are."

"Good. Wondering off in the dark ain't a good idea." Daryl stepped into the conversation, adjusting the heavy crossbow over his shoulder. "T-Dog any better?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, I cleaned him up the best I could." She informed him. "He's going to need stitches. I would do it myself, but I couldn't find any of the supplies I needed. I'm sorry."

"Thanks again. We really appreciate it." Glenn said, a somber look on his face.

"Yeah, of course." They exchanged an awkward smile before Glenn walked away from them. She shifted her weight, feeling uncomfortable to be standing in front of the guy who had been ready to kill her just hours before. She mustered up the courage to look him in the eye. "I know we just met and all but..." She glanced toward the RV for second, then looked back at him. "Let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

"I'll let Rick know." That was all he said before nodding his head and taking a step back, walking away.

Charlie quickly turned around and made her way toward her brother. He was leaning on the truck, arms crossed over his chest as he eyed his sister.

"What did they want?"

"Just wanted to thank us for helping their friend." Josh shrugged his shoulders and swung the car door open. "W-Wait, Josh." Charlie stopped her brother before he jumped into the vehicle. "I think...we should help Daryl and his group."

"Charlie-" Joshua started, but his sister cut him off.

"What if it was Ryan or Hayley who were lost out there?" She blurted out.

When his hazel eyes stared down at her without moving, she didn't know what to think. Not once has she mentioned what happened to his family, to **their** family. Bringing it up made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Charlotte..." he rubbed his temples, exhaling slowly.

"I'm sorry, I-I just..." She stopped herself, trying to keep her voice from quivering. "You know what it feel like to lose your son, your daughter, and your wife. This little girl is all that woman has left. We can't just leave. What if we can help?"

They both stood still, not saying a word. Charlie couldn't think of what to say. She can only imagine what Josh was thinking. They had no reason to help these people. After the last group they encountered, she shouldn't have even considered trusting these people. But they didn't seem dangerous. They were a group of survivors who lost one of their own. A child.

"Alright." He finally let his hand fall from his face. "We'll help them find her." He was just about to enter the car when he let out a tired laugh. "Brooke was right, ya know."

Hearing her sister-in-law's name made Charlie's ears perk up. This was the first time he had said his wife's name since the world had turned to shit. "Was right about what?" Her voice cracked.

"You always find a way to get through to people. Even me."


	2. Chapter 2: Blow Away

**So I had decided I wasn't going to sleep tonight until I posted this chapter so HERE IT IS!  
I've been wanting to update this story for a good while now, but never got around to doing so until today. This LA heat wave kept me inside and on my computer for most of the day so I was finally able to finish this chapter!**

**Hope you all enjoy and let me know what you guys think!**

**"Blow Away" by A Fine Frenzy. Something a little upbeat to keep me in the my "writing mode" I suppose.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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The sun had risen and everybody was wide awake and out on the highway getting ready for their search for Sophia. Charlie tried to get as much sleep as she could get but, with Joshua tossing and turning in the backseat of the truck, she hardly slept.

"Pack light. " Joshua said to his sister as she reorganized everything in her backpack. "Only the essentials. The last thing we need is to wear ourselves out carrying heavy shit around." Charlie knew he wasn't trying to mention her wounded shoulder but, with his continuing glances over to her, she knew he wouldn't stop worrying about it.

"Yeah, yeah." She grabbed the random articles of clothing that were in her bag and threw them in the truck, replacing them with water bottles. "Not like we have much to pack anyway." Their search for supplies on the highway wasn't very successful. They found a few things here and there that might be useful but it didn't make Joshua too happy.

"Charlotte, Joshua..." Lori walked up to the siblings, a slow pace. A man to her left side. "This is my husband, Rick." Charlie and Josh merely nodded their head; Rick did the same. Lori looked over to him, placing a hand on her hip. "They were out here on the highway when that herd passed through. Charlotte helped patch up T-Dog."

"We appreciate your help." He had managed to clean up a bit. His shirt was still stained with dry blood, but no traces of dirt were found on his face or arms.

"We're sorry to hear about the little girl." Charlie looked over to Josh, waiting to get an approved nod in order for her to continue. "My brother and I would like to help you search for her. She shouldn't be out on her own. Not with those walking corpses out there."

Rick looked over his shoulder and stared at a yellow car near the RV. Carol was beside it, staring off into the woods. Letting out a sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck. "It would mean a lot to us. To **her.**"

"Just tell us what to do." Josh finally chimed in.

"Thank you." He tried his best to give a thankful smile, but it fell apart. "Let's get going then."

"Do you really think he was a police officer before all this?" Joshua questioned in a hushed voice, not wanting the husband and wife to over hear him.

"I don't see why he would have a reason to play dress up." She zipped up her backpack and swung it onto her good shoulder. "Come on." Charlie and Joshua followed Rick and Lori back to the group.

Dale handed an arsenal to Rick, who quickly laid it open on top of the yellow car's hood. "Everybody takes a weapon."

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need." Andrea was quick to comment. "What about the guns?"

"We've been over that." Shane spoke up, taking a moment to stop looking at his gun. "Daryl, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about."

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it."

Andrea looked annoyed as ever, taking a glance at Joshua. Her blue eyes quickly trailed down to his hostler. "Then why does **he** have his gun? We barley know them and you're letting them carry?" She glared at Charlie. "They could 'pop a round' at all of us when we aren't looking."

Everyone's eyes turned to Charlie and Josh. Everyone except Carol, who was still dazing off into the woods.

Rick cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave your gun behind. You don't seem like dangerous people but it's just..." He trailed off.

"I get it." Joshua grabbed his Baretta from it's holster, handing it out to Rick. "We can protect ourselves just fine without a gun." He looked over to Andrea, who continued to glare at him.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark." Daryl said, ready to head out.

"Stay quiet. Stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other." Rick looked to everybody as they listened intently to him.

"Everybody assemble your packs." Shane finally announced.

"Don't get me started on her." Joshua muttered as the whole group prepared themselves for their search. He shook his head. "Almost as annoying as Mr. Shotgun over there."

Charlie chuckled at his nickname for Shane. "Neither one of them like us."

"We're gonna find that girl and get away from these people as soon as we get the chance..." The siblings looked up as they heard Andrea's loud and distraught voice. By the look on everyone's faces, they were all distracted by her conversation with Dale.

Andrea's voice soon lowered and she walked off down the road. Rick looked over to the siblings, giving them a quick nod.

"Now that **that's** over..." Joshua readjusted the backpack over his shoulder. "Let's go." They followed Rick toward the guardrail, with Shane and Glenn close behind them.

Rick soon made his way to Daryl, who was leading the group into the woods. They entered the woods in an assembly line type of formation. Charlie and Joshua had ended up walking behind Glenn and in front of Lori, Carl and Shane.

All was quite, no sign of any movement in the woods. The sound of insects flying everywhere was starting to annoy Charlie. She swatted her hand in front of her face, trying to keep the flies away from her. She let out a small _oomph _when she bumped into Glenn when he came to a sudden halt. "Sorry..." she apologized to him in a hushed voice. The young man just gave her a small smile in response.

Shane pushed his way passed Charlie and Josh, giving her a silencing look and he gazed after a tent that sat just a few feet from them. "She could be in there." he said

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl muttered as he took a step forward. Carol was quick to follow but was stopped when Rick lifted hand to her, stopping her. He fell into step with Daryl and Shane marched right behind them.

The three men with heavy ammo had left the rest of their group and that made Charlie nervous. Everyone was focused on the tent, while her grip on her knife tightened as she stood still. Her eyes scanning the area they had just walked through.

Rick called out to Carol. She sprinted her way toward him as Shane held up his hand to stop the rest of the group from following. The second Shane turned his eyes away, the group quietly took a few steps forward. They now had a better view of the tent with Daryl crouched in front of it.

Carol spoke out softly for her daughter, but no response came. Again, Rick and Shane stepped forward, leaving the rest of them to stare in wonder. Daryl disappeared into the tent but when Rick tried to follow, he stopped. Both Shane and Rick broke into a fit of coughs. Gagging.

At this point, the rest of the group stood next to Carol. Lori laid a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Daryl?" Carol called out, her voice shaking. "Daryl?" She called out again.

"It ain't her." Daryl announced as he exited the tent, causing Carol to sigh. In relief? Despair? It was hard to tell.

"What's in there?" Andrea asked.

"Some guy. Did what Jenner said. **Opted out.** Ain't that what he called it?"

_Opted out? _Charlie looked to Andrea for a hint of what led Daryl to choose those specific words. The blonde looked upset.

Just then, the sound of church bells chimed in the stared at each other, eyes wide as they continued to listen to the bells. It didn't take long for them to sprint off toward the sound. With Shane in the front, Charlie and Joshua stayed in the rear, making sure body got left behind.

"Shit..." Charlie huffed, shrugging off the backpack off her injured shoulder as she continued to jog after the group. To her relief, Joshua was too distracted by the bells to notice her discomfort. She caught up to the group as they slowed down, trying to figure out in which direction the sudden sound was coming from.

"If we hear them, maybe Sophia does too." She heard Carol say.

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others."

"Or signaling they found her."

"Or she could be ringing them herself. Come on!" Rick rushed everyone forward. They brushed passed some trees and were welcomed by a small grave yard. A small church in the distance.

"Rick!" Shane called out but it was no use. Before Charlie could catch her breath, the group sprinted toward the church.

Lori and Carl were slowing down, short out of breath. "Almost there!" Charlie grabbed onto Carl's hand, pulling him forward.

They had reached the church and quickly looked for the entrance. Rick led the group up some small steps to a set of big red double doors. Both Charlie and Joshua stayed at the foot of the steps, scanning their surroundings as they waiting for Rick and Daryl to push open the doors.

Charlie caught Lori slipping a machete to Rick, then Daryl exchanged his crossbow for Glenn's weapon. It didn't take long for the three men to take down however many dead people were in there.

"Sophia!" Charlie head Rick exclaim in frustration.

"She's not here..." Joshua exhaled, taking a look at the graves behind them. "You think she heard it too?"

The church bells rang loudly, startling Charlie. _What the hell?_ She stepped off the last step, taking a few steps to look at the church's exterior. _But there's no steeple?_

Daryl rushed passed her and made his way to the side of the building. "Shit." She heard him mutter, following his gaze up to a set of speakers. Glenn was quick to shut off the sound. "A timer." Daryl heaved. "It's on a timer."

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol stated, the distraught mother walking back into the church. Everyone slowly started following right behind her.

"Sit." Joshua ordered. _Don't have to tell me twice._ Charlie let out a soft groan as she sat down on a pew in the last row. Daryl, Glenn and Joshua stood behind her, weapons at hand. Nobody said a word. Everyone gazed after Carol, her crying being heard throughout the church.

"Please, don't let this be my punishment." She heard the mother whimper. That's when Charlie had enough. She couldn't handle listening to this woman's grieving while she sat back and was unable to help.

"I can't do this." Charlie muttered under her breath and immediately stood up. Before her brother could ask what was wrong, Charlie rushed passed him and skipped down the stairs, walking toward a big tree that provided shade. She threw her backpack down onto the ground with rage, instantly regretting it. Her shoulder started throbbing again and she let out a groan. "Damn it." She sank down to the ground and leaned up against the tree as her brother walked towards her.

"We don't have to do this." Joshua spoke up after minutes of silence. It wasn't what she expected him to say and it made her furious.

"What are you talking about? Of course we have to help! You think you can just walk away and not give that little girl and her mother a second thought!?" Charlie exclaimed. "What if..." She trailed off. She did it again.

"What if what?" Joshua asked, looking frustrated. "What if that was my wife in there crying and my kids lost in the woods? Well guess what? **It's not.** They're all **dead **and we can't do anything about it!" Joshua tried not to raise his voice, but he continued to push it to the limit. "You can't blame yourself because of what happened to them! It wasn't your fault! This little girl getting lost in the woods wasn't you're fault either!"

"Maybe you're okay with just walking away but I can't..." Charlie whispered under her breath. Joshua was going to continue, but stopped himself when he saw everyone walking out the church and towards them.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good." Glenn asked when he reached Charlie.

"She's fine." Her brother was quick to answer. Charlie sent him a glare, hoping it looked threatening. Glenn was just worried and Joshua was being a jerk.

"I'm fine." Charlie cleared her throat, hoping it didn't sound like she was about to cry. "A bit tired, that's all. " She nodded at him, giving him a small smile. Shane clearing his throat caught their attention.

"Ya'll gonna follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough."

"You're splitting us up?" Daryl question. "You sure?"

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

"I want to stay too." Carl spoke up as he stepped forward. "I'm her friend."

Rick and Shane glanced at each other, not knowing how to answer the boy. Rick looked over to his wife for help.

"Just be careful, okay?" Lori decided.

The boy gave her an innocent smile, nodding his head. "I will."

"When did you start growing up?" Lori pulled her son into an embrace, kissing the top of his head.

Charlie glanced up to look at her brother. His eyes were glued to the mother and son. When Rick walked over to Lori and gave her a kiss, Joshua's face softened. Charlie knew that her brother was thinking about his wife and kids. It hurt seeing her brother like this. When he caught his sister looking at him, he quickly looked toward the opposite direction and followed Glenn as he started to walk away.

"Here, take this." Rick pulled his pistol out from his hostler and held it out to her. "Remember how to use it?"

"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed."

"Here, I got a spare." Daryl stepped up to Lori, handing over a small gun to her. "Take it."

Charlie caught Andrea making a face, but she didn't bother giving her a second look. She turned around and followed Daryl and the rest of the group into the woods. Nobody had said a word while they marched passed trees. Every once in a while, Daryl would call out for the little girl but they never got a response.

"So this is it?" They heard Carol ask behind them. Charlie heard Daryl let out a low grunt as they stopped and turned to face her. "This is the whole plan?" Carol plopped down onto a a tree trunk.

"I guess the plan is to whistle us down into smaller and smaller groups." Daryl replied as he leaned against a nearby tree.

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks." Andrea added as she turned to Lori. "I see **you** have a gun."

"Why you want it?" She handed it over to Andrea. "Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're giving me."

It took her a second, but Andrea grabbed the gun. Not without making sure everyone saw how insulted she was.

"All of you." Lori paused, looking at Carol next. "Honey, i can't imagine what you're going through. And I would do anything to stop it. But you have got to stop blaming Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him." She continued. "When Sofia ran he didnt hesitated, did he? Not for a **second.** I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way he did. Or made the hard decision that he had to make or that anybody could have done anything differently." She breathed out.

"Anybody?" She questioned. Looking from one person to another.

Charlie and Joshua stood silent. Standing aside as the mother breathlessly finished her rant. It had been less than 24 hours since they met this group but they could tell what Lori was saying was true. Rick had this energy about him that made Charlie feel like she can rely on him. That she could trust him. Seemed like everyone replied on him a little too much.

Lori shook her head. "Ya'll look to him then blame him when he's not perfect. If you think you can do this without him then go right ahead. No one is stopping you." She took a quick drink from her water bottle and shoved it back into her backpack.

Andrea looked down at the small gun in her hands before taking a step forward and handing it back to Lori. She accepted it.

"We should keep moving."

Lori made her way to the front of the group as Daryl nodded his head towards the direction they were heading toward. Charlie and Joshua waited for Carol to stand up before following the others.

They continued to roam through the woods. For how long? Charlie had lost track of time. All she knew was that the sun was starting to get low and she was beyond tired. The fact that her brother was practically ignoring her made the whole situation even more irritating.

Out of the corner of her eye, she would catch Glenn glancing over at her. He might have thought he was being slick, but Charlie noticed.

"What is it, Glenn?" She finally asked him, growing tired of his stares.

He hesitated, looking over his shoulder to see Joshua staring off into the woods. "Your brother doesn't seem to like me."

"Dont take it personally. He's always been like that. Even before the dead came back to life." She wiped the sweat off her forehead. Even when the sun was starting to get low, the heat was still taking a toll on her. "He doesn't like anyone."

"He should relax. I don't think there's any walkers around here."

"Its not the walkers he feels threatened by..." she scoffed.

"You mean **us**?" Glenn asked a little too loudly.

Daryl appeared next to them, glaring at Glenn. "Keep your voice down!" He growled.

"Sorry." Glenn whispered back, scared of the man who was left in charge.

_Poor guy._ Charlie shook her head, knowing that Glenn meant no harm. Like he had mentioned, there wasn't any walkers around. But she understood why Daryl was being so cautious. There was a reason why Rick trusted him with leading the group back to the highway.

A loud sound suddenly rang out. It sounded distant but it was loud enough to make everyone stop in their tracks.

"Did you guys hear that?" Lori quickly looked back, her eyes wide.

"Was that..."

"Sounded like a gun shot." Joshua stated, looking towards the direction where it might have came from. They all stood still, waiting to hear another round, but the woods stayed silent.

"Come on, let's keep moving." Daryl ordered everyone. "It's starting to get dark out." The group hesitated but followed him anyway. Lori stayed in the back of the group, walking slower than the others. Every once in a while, Charlie caught her looking back. But when the whole group finally noticed her spacing out and looking over her shoulder, they all stopped once again.

"You still worried about it?" Andrea asked.

"It was a gunshot." Lori stated, not bothering to look over at Andrea.

"We all heard it." Daryl confirmed.

Lori looked back at the group. "Why one? Why just **one **gun shot?"

_She has a point. _

"Maybe they took down a walker-"

"Don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put one walker down. Or Shane. They do it quietly." She looked back again.

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked. Her voice was shaky. But then again, when wasn't it?

Daryl shook his head, looking around the woods. "Nothing we can do about it anyway. Can't run around these woods chasing echos."

"So what do we do?" Lori questioned, getting a bit impatient.

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Sofia, work our way to the highway." Daryl answered her, as if it was the most obvious solution.

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." Andrea tried to reassure the two mothers.

Lori didn't seemed too convinced, taking a look back over her shoulder, but continued to follow Daryl anyway. Andrea stood back and exchanged a few words with Carol, who only seemed to get slightly more upset.

"The thought of her out here by herself..." Carol looked back to Andrea. "It's the not knowing that's killing me. I just keep hoping and praying she doesn't wind up like Amy." A_my?_ The second that name left her mouth, Carol immediately took Andrea's hands into her own. "Oh god. That's the worst thing I ever said."

Andrea shook her head, taking a second to respond. "We're all hoping and praying with you for what it's worth."

Daryl stomped passed Charlie with an irritated looked on his face. "I'll tell you what it's worth; not a damn thing. It's a waste of time all this hoping and praying. Cause we're going to locate that little girl and she's going to be just fine." When they didn't respond, he continued. "Am I the only one zen around here? Good Lord." He walked away from them.

Charlie caught Lori's small smile. Despite the unfortunate situation they were in, being slip up into three groups now and having no idea where the other two groups were at, Daryl was the only one who seemed to stay calm and collected.

They continued to walk through the woods, but not for too long. Their pace had slowed down as they all grew tired.

"We'll lose the light for too long." Daryl stated, making the entire group stop and take a breath. "I think we should call it."

"Let's head back." Lori agreed.

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asked, her big blue eyes looking toward Lori.

"Yeah, we'll find her tomorrow."

Daryl whistled, grabbing everyone's attention as they started to make their way back toward the highway. Charlie wasn't sure which way they were headed, but it seemed like Daryl knew where they were so she trusted him. They all did.

"How much father?"

"Not much. Maybe a hundred yards, as the crow flies." Daryl answered as he continued to lead the group over broken branches and fallen tree trunks.

"Too bad we're not crows." Andrea replied with a huff. It was the first thing she said that made Charlie smile._ Yeah. Too bad._

Charlie groaned as her shoulder started to throb again. The backpack wasn't very comfortable and all the walking didn't help either.

"Are you okay?" Lori asked, noticing her discomfort.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine-"

That's when they heard the scream. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at each other, eyes scanning their surroundings. Who was missing?

"Andrea?" Lori shouted, having figured out who was the person who had wondered off. Another scream ripped through the air and they all went running. A few feet away laid Andrea with a walker hot on her trail. Before anyone could raise their weapon, or even process what was about to happen in front of them, a giant horse appeared out of nowhere. It's rider slammed the walker's head with a bat and sent it tumbling to the ground.

"Lori?" The girl questioned Andrea. "Lori Grimes?"

_Who the hell is she? Another member of their group?_ _She can't be._

"I'm Lori." The mother answered, a bit confused.

"Rick sent me. You've got to come **now!**"

"What?"

"There's been an accident. Carl's been shot." The girl didn't let the information sink in before she continued. "He's still alive but you've got to come now."

Everyone stared at her, not knowing what to do or how to respond. "Rick needs you! Just come!" Lori immediately shrugged off her backpack and walked toward the horse.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa, we don't know this girl!" Daryl said, trying to stop Lori. "You can't get on that horse!"

"Rick said you have others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?"

"Uh huh." Glenn managed to breath out.

"Backtrack to Fairburn Road. Two miles down is out farm. You'll see the mailbox. The name's Greene." Before anyone could say anything else, the girl took off with Lori. The horse soon disappeared, leaving everyone gaping after it.

"What the hell just happened?" Joshua said asked what was everyone's mind, but nobody responded. All they heard was a sort of wheezing sound coming from their right side. They all turned to see the corpse sit up and slowly turn its head toward them, the groaning continuing.

"Shut up!" Daryl growled, shooting an arrow through it's head to silence it. Carol and Glenn stared at it with a puzzled look on their face. "We need to get back to the highway **now**."

"Come on, almost there. We have to get to that barn. What was her name again?"

"Greene." Joshua spoke up. He might have been hanging in the back, not saying much, but that was because he was always watching. Always very observant and cautious.

Everyone seemed to forget how tired they felt as they rushed after Daryl. They picked up the pace and within a few short minutes, they walked through familiar trees and found themselves walking towards the guardrail.

"About time you are all back!" Dale exclaimed, the smile on his face disappeared as the noticed the number of people in the group had lowered. "Where is everybody else?"

"Carl was shot." Daryl huffed.

"Shot? What do you mean shot?"

"I don't know Dale. I wasn't there. All I know is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Glenn explained to the older man.

"You let her?" Dale questioned Daryl, not believing what he was hearing.

"Crawled out of my asshole, man!" Daryl growled as he made his way over the guardrail. "Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name. And Carl's." He brushed his way passed him.

"And I heard screams. Was that you?" He asked Andrea.

When she didn't reply, Glenn chimed in. "She got attacked by a walker. It was a close call."

"Andrea, are you alright?" Dale tried to get an answer from her again, but she merely turned around to shake her head at him before disappearing into the RV. She made sure to slam the door behind her.

"What about you two?"

"We're fine." Joshua answered in a monotone voice.

Charlie tried not to roll her eyes. They had bumped into some pretty nasty people after they had lost their home, but when was her brother going to ease up? These people didn't mean any harm to them.

"We're just worried about Sophia." Charlie sat down on the hood of the closest car, letting out a groan as she rubbed her neck. "And Carl."

"Here." Dale passed them each a bottle of water, earning a quiet 'Thank You' from Charlie. "We need to figure this out. And soon."

"Well, shouldn't we head out there and find Rick?" Glenn asked, looking from face to face. At this point, Daryl had walked backed over to the small group and Andrea had exited the RV. She looked a bit more calm, but still irritated. "I mean, we need to know what's going on, right?"

"That girl in the woods gave us directions on how to get to her farm. It would be best to head out as soon as possible." Joshua advised.

"But it's getting dark out. Should we really risk going out there right now?"

"It's a risk either way." Charlie sided with her brother. "The sooner we find Rick and the others, the better. If they need help, it might be too late if we head out in the morning." Dale seemed to understand what Charlie was hinting at. _Carl might not make it till morning. _

"You're right." Dale finally said, rubbing his face as he sighed. "We need to go."

"I won't do it!" Carol was quick to intervene. "We can't just leave."

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak."

"What if she comes back and we're not here?" She looked between Dale and Andrea. "It could happen."

"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone that would be awful." Andrea agreed.

"Okay," Daryl nodded his head. "We got to plan for this. I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Gives us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV."

"If the RV is staying, I am too." Dale was quick to add.

"Thank you. Thank you both." Carol said in a muffled voice, almost about to cry no doubt.

"I'm in." Andrea decided.

"Well, if you're all staying then I'm-" Glenn was quickly cut off.

"Not you, Glenn. You're going. Take Carol's Cherokee."

"Me? Why is it always me?"

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on but most important, you have to get TDog there. This is not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm and see if they have any antibiotics. Because if not, TDog **will** die. No Joke."

Charlie looked over her shoulder to see TDog, huddled in a blanket behind the RV. Even at a distance, she could see how much he was suffering.

"Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle." Daryl threw the rag at Dale before displaying a bag full of containers on top of the hood of the car, next to Charlie. "Why'd you wait till now to say anything? Got my brother's stash."

Everyone stared at him in wonder as he looked through the multiple bottles. "Crystal, X, don't need that." Charlie would have thought he was joking, but she saw the bottles herself. "Got some kick ass pain killers." He tossed it over to Glenn. "Oxycycline. Not the generic stuff either. It's first class." Daryl threw the next bottle to Dale, who stared at him in wonder. He merely shrugged his shoulders as he picked up the bag and walked back toward the motorcycle. "Merle got the clap on occasion."

"This will help him, right?" Dale handed the bottle over to Charlie. She took the bottle from him to read the fine print.

"It'll definitely doze him out." She scoffed. Dale continued to stare at her, ignoring her sarcastic remark. Charlie sighed. "Yes. At least until we get him some real help."

When Dale continued to stare at her, with that puppy dog look of his, she knew what he wanted to ask her. She knew it would get her brother beyond mad. She glanced over to Joshua, who was staring at the two of them with his arms crossed over his chest. _He's going to get so pissed._

Charlie sighed. "I'll go with Glenn and TDog."

"You'll **what**?" Joshua growled. His posture stiffened, almost as if resisting the urge to walk up to her and slap the bottle right out of her hand.

"I need to make sure he gets treated properly! Maybe I could even help with Carl..." She trailed off. She hoped they didn't think she was as skilled as she came across to be. Sure, her grandmother had taught her a lot, but that didn't necessarily classify her as a nurse.

"Thank you." Dale reached out to grab Charlie's hand, giving it a tight squeeze and a firm shake.

"Wait, so we're just going to let these two strangers ride with our guys? How are we so sure they won't try to do something?" Andrea questioned.

"I guess you wont." Joshua spit out. Charlie pinched her brother's arm, making him squirm away from her and rub the sensitive spot.

"My brother will stay here with you guys." She turned to Joshua, raising an eyebrow. Challenging him. "Wont you?" Both Andrea and Joshua stared at Charlie as if she was crazy. Joshua shook his head, obviously mad at her. Even more than he was before.

"This is ridiculous." Joshua muttered before he decided to walk away from the small group.

"Are you sure he's okay with this?" Dale asked her in a hushed voice.

"Yeah..." She jumped off of the car and grabbed her backpack from the hood. "Don't worry, he's more useful than he looks." She started to walk off after her brother.

"Why do I doubt that?" She heard Andrea mutter, but Charlie didn't bother turning around. She found her Joshua back at the truck they had slept in the night before, rummaging through the back seats.

"What are you doing?" Charlie asked as she approached him. He looked over his shoulder before continuing whatever it was that he was doing.

"So apparently you make all the decisions now? Without even talking to me first?"

"There's nothing to discuss! We're helping these people and there's no other choice-"

"We leave **now**." He grabbed her backpack from her and started shoving her clothes into it. Charlie looked over his shoulder to see his backpack full and ready to go.

"We are **not** leaving, Joshua. We can't. Not now."

Joshua dropped the bag and turned around to face his sister. He was taller than her, a lot tougher too, but he didn't intimidate her.

"You're kidding me, right? You expect me to just stay here while you drive off to God knows where with those two?"

"Josh, look at them!" She resisted the urge to point towards TDog. She didn't know if they were watching them and she certainly didn't want to draw attention to them. "TDog can barley move. Glenn looks harmless, but I'll have him drive and keep an eye on him. I'll be fine."

Joshua's hazel eyes stared down at her as she spoke. He was always the protective older brother, looking after his little sister. Even more so when the dead came back to life and started eating people. He shook his head, trying to forget the mental image. She was all he had and he was damned if he ever let anything happen to her. _Not again._

He sighed, lifting a hand up to his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Do you really trust these people?"

Charlie shifted her weight, unsure of how to answer him. She looked over to the small group of people who were each moving at their own pace, getting ready for the departure of Glenn and TDog. _And me._ She sighed, turning back to look up at her brother.

"I do." She decided. "Just trust me on this, okay? They're good people. They have a little girl who is lost in the woods, a boy who has been shot and a man who is pretty much half dead." Charlie looked around, hoping nobody had heard her choice of words.

"You don't need to worry about me." She looked over to where Andrea stood. "To be perfectly honest? I'm more worried about **you**." _Wonder how long she'll complain about him until he finally snaps on her. It shouldn't take too long._

Before Joshua can say anything, she started making her way over to TDog. "Like you said earlier, the sooner we find that little girl, the sooner we can move along." She called back to him, not bothering to look back at him.

Charlie reached the rear end of the RV, where the wounded man stood.

"How are you holding up?" She asked.

"Ain't feeling too good." He groaned, leaning off of the RV. "What's the plan?"

"First, you have to take some of these." She popped open the bottle and shook out two pills onto TDog's open palm. "Then we'll gather some things and make our way down the road. You should go lay down in the Cherokee while we get ready to head out.

TDog let out a tired laugh. "Yes, ma'am." He saluted her with a bottle filled with pink water before popping the pills into his mouth and drank the water. Or whatever it was.

"Charlie wiped off the bead of sweat that threatened to roll down her forhead, letting out a tired sigh. When she lookedup to look for her brother, her eyes landed on Daryl. He was muffling around the bag on a a black motorycyle.

She hesitantly walked over to him with her arms crossed, guarded. She didn't forget that he had pointed his crossbow in her face just the day before.

"You said that was your brother's bike?"

"Yeah." Daryl answered, putting away the bag of medicine bottles. "Why?" He didn't sound to interested.

"I head the rumbling of the engine through the woods. It's what led us to the highway." She uncrossed her arms, settling to link her thumb through the belt hoop of her jeans. "My brother thought I was imagining it."

"Is that right?" He looked up for a second, eyes squinted as teh sun started to set. "What the hell were you doing in the woods?"

"We uhh..." _We were running?_ "We bumped into some people out on the road a couple of days ago. We thought it would be safer walking through the woods rather than out in the open."

Daryl nodded his head, looking down for a second before staring back at her. "Is that why your shoulder is all bandaged up?"

Charlie froze. She could feel her heart skip a beat, it hurt. Nobody else had noticed her bandages. She thought it had gone unnoticed, but she guessed wrong.

"They hurt you?" He asked again when she didn't respond.

Charlie fumbled with the hanging stone of her necklace, something she always did whenever she got nervous or her anxiety was starting to overwhelm her. It was a bad habit of hers.

Daryl shook his head. "You don't have to answer that." He looked back down at the motorcyle, finally breaking eye contact. Charlie was relieved he wasn't pushing her for an answer.

"Charlotte?" She turned to face Dale. "Did you talk to Joshua?"

It was weird hearing Dale call her brother by his name. "Uhm, yeah." She took a step back, giving herself more distance from Daryl and the bike. "My brother will stay here with you."

"And do what?" Daryl spoke behind her. Was he doubting his brother now, too? "Don't seem like he's interested in helping."

"Maybe you guys can search through the area one more time? Rick said you know the woods better than anyone here, maybe he can be your backup."

Daryl scoffed, shaking his head, but he didn't disagree. _It's a start._

"That still seems a little dangerous." Dale said.

"He'll help you keep watch. Whatever you say, he'll do it. He's good with orders."

"You make me sound like a dog." Joshua had shown up behind Dale, taking the older man by surprise. "But she's right. I'm here to help."

"Good to know." Dale nodded his head.

"Here." He held her backpack toward Charlie, mentioning her to go and grab it from him.

"Thank you." When she lifted her hand to take it from him, he pulled it away.

"You sure about this?" His voice was low, almost a whisper. He didn't want the others to overhear him.

"Yes, I'm sure." She whispered back to him. He put up a tough front, but she knew he was just worried about her.

Joshua shook his head and sighed. "Okay then." He handed her the backpack. It felt a lot lighter than it had been the day before. He must have put all the heavier shit in his own bag. Before she could mention it to him, he leaned down and gave her a tight embrace.

This was going to be the first time that they would be away from each other since the world ended. It scared her, but she knew it wouldn't be for too long. They both hoped it wouldn't be.

"Stay safe." He whispered to her before pulling away.

"Ready?" Glenn asked. Charlie noticed him holding a shot gun, but he didn't look as intimidating as Shane. He seemed almost scared to be holding it.

She nodded her head. "Lets go."

They walked toward the Cherokee, where everyone had gathered. Charlie sat down the passenger seat, taking a look behind her. TDog had listened to her and was lying in the backseat of the car, a soft moan coming from his lips. She could only imagine the pain he was going through.

"We'll be out there by morning." Dale reminded the pair. "Stay alert."

Glenn nodded his head before slouching into the driver's seat. He placed the shot gun in between them before turning the key in the ignition. He put the car in reverse, slowly pulling away from the mess of cars before he was able to drive down the road.

_Maybe I **should** have driven. _He was driving a bit too slow for her liking, but she didn't say anything to him. Glenn snapped her back into reality. She heard him say something, but she didn't quite make out what he said. "Huh?"

"Y-your brother." He stuttered. "Are things better between you two?"

"Yeah." She looked in the side view mirror, watching as everyone's silhouette by the RV slowly disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3 : World At Large

**Again, taking forever to update and AGAIN I apologize! The last time I updated this story was because it too hot for me to do anything other than stay home and be on my computer. And now I'm updating because California is in the middle of the "El Nino" storm so I'm stuck at home and guess what? I finally finished this chapter! Hope you enjoy it!  
**

**"World At Large" by Modest Mouse.**

**I do not own The Walking Dead.**

* * *

The sky had gone dark just a short time after Charlie, Glenn and TDog had left the highway. It was a quiet drive but Charlie didn't mind. The farther away she was from her brother, the more nervous she was getting. She wasn't scared of the two guys she was driving with but the idea of being separated from her brother made her want to jump out of the car and run back to him.

It didn't take long for them to find the mailbox that the girl in the woods had mentioned. They followed the road straight into the gate that let to the farmhouse.

"I got it." Charlie said as Glenn slowed the car down once they were a few feet away from wooden gate. She jumped out of the car, keeping her dagger close to her. With one good push, making sure she didn't strain her injured shoulder, she managed to push open the gate. Once Glenn drove the car through, she was quick to closing it and rushed to get back into the Cherokee.

"There it is." Glenn gulped, his hands tightening on the staring wheel as the car came to a complete halt in front of the farmhouse. "Think it's safe?"

"Only one way to find out." Charlie mumbled back a response as she popped the door open once again.

She let Glenn lead the way as TDog followed beside her. Once they reached the front porch, they noticed trickles of dry blood on the front steps. It made Charlie's skin crawl.

"So do we ring the bell? I mean, it looks like people live here." Glenn seemed unsure of himself.

"We're passed this sort of stuff, aren't we? Having to be considerate." TDog trudged onto the steps.

"Did you close the gate up the road when you drove in?" A sudden voice surprised Charlie, making her jump at the voice. None of them had noticed the person sitting on the porch, silently watching them as they walked up to the house.

"Uh, hi." Glenn looked back to Charlie. "Yes, we closed it. Did the latch and everything." The person sitting on the rocking chair leaned forward, letting the porch light reveal their face. "Hello. Nice to see you again." Glenn smiled at her. "We, uh, met before. Briefly."

"Look, we came to help. There anything we can do?" TDog stuttered. The girl stood up, her eyes glancing down at TDog's arm. "It's not a bite. I cut myself pretty bad."

"Another reason why we're here." Charlie finally spoke up. "We need to get his arm cleaned up. Maybe even stitched up if you have any supplies."

"We'll have it looked at. I'll tell them you're here."

"We have some painkillers and antibiotics. I already gave him some. If Carl needs any..."

"Come on inside. I'll make you something to eat." She opened the sprint door, letting them walk into the formal living room. The house was spacious, definitely something Charlie would have admired if not for their current situation.

The girl nodded her head towards an open door. Glenn looked back at the three people next to him. None of them said a word when they saw Rick and Lori sitting next to Carl. He looked pale, his skin and hair wet with sweat.

Glenn removed his hat and blinked, at a loss for words. "Hey." He said gently.

"Hey." Rick replied, his voice sounded raw and tired.

An older man stood from the bed, a Stethoscope hanging around his neck. _This must be the man who is helping Carl. _

"Um, we're here okay?"

"Thank you." Lori said quietly, glancing at her husband then quickly back down at her son.

"Whatever you need." TDog added.

Charlie felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see the girl mentioning her to the other room.

"Come on..."Charlie whispered to the two men. They silently followed the girl into the kitchen.

"Sit." The girl ordered as she opened a cabinet and pulled out three cups. "I'll get Patricia to stitch ya up once she finishes helping my dad with the boy."

"So, you're father is a doctor?" Glenn asked. The girl stayed quiet for a moment, placing the cups onto the table.

"Yeah." She finally said, turning back around to get a bottle of what appeared to be orange juice from the refrigerator. "Something like that." The girl filled up the three cups with the cold beverage. God knows how long it had been since Charlie had drank fresh orange juice. She drank it gratefully. A little **too** fast. Her two companions did too. The girl noticed this, chucked to herself, and poured some more juice into their cups.

"Thanks..." Charlie said in embarrassment, tucking some hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"Maggie." She called out from over her shoulder. She opened different cabinets, taking things in and out from them. In just a few short moments, she had a couple sandwiches stacked up on a plate. "Don't be shy." She nodded towards the plate. "Help yourselves."

They didn't need to be be told twice. Charlie and TDog reached for one. It was heavenly. Sure, it was just a plain sandwich but it was by far the best thing Charlie had eaten in a while.

"Thanks for this." Glenn said in between bites. "I'm Glenn." He introduced himself. "This is Charlotte and TDog."

"Nice to meet you. Wish it was under better circumstances." They all stopped eating for a second. Here they were, eating a bunch of sandwiches, while this poor, wounded boy was in the next room. Charlotte suddenly lost her appetite.

"Yeah, so do we." She muttered, setting the sandwich down and taking one last drink from her cup.

* * *

Joshua felt uneasy being away from his sister, but he would reunite with her in the morning. As much as he hated being away from her, he trusted her instinct. He was usually the muscle and she was the brains. That's how they had made it this far. They were a great team. He let out a groan as he heard sobbing coming from the RV. It had gone on for awhile now, but even from the top of the RV, it was starting to irritate him.

"You alright?" Asked Dale, who was sitting next to him. Joshua had opted to hang out with the old man on top of the RV instead of being cramped inside of it.

"Sure." He scoffed, rubbing the back of his head. "Depends on what your definition of 'alright' means."

"I know this is hard. It's hard on all of us."

"I never said it wasn't." He instantly regretted the harsh tone. He didn't mean to sound so mean. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"No need to apologize." Dale gave him a hopeful smile. "I get it."

Just then, they heard the door to the RV opening. Daryl and Andrea both walked out of it, flashlights in hand.

"I'm going for a walk. Shine some light in the forest. If she's out there, gives her something to look at." Daryl said to them.

"You think that's a good idea right now?"

"Dale." Andrea's agitated tone warned him not to say another word.

"Sounds like a good idea." Joshua suddenly stood up. "Mind if I tag along?"

"Not you too." Dale groaned.

"Sorry, Dale. Sitting, **waiting** for something to happen, or for something **not **to happen? It ain't my thing." He climbed down the back of the RV and strolled over to Daryl. "Let's go."

With one final look to Dale, the three of them walked away from the highway and headed towards the woods.

"You didn't have to come." Andrea muttered.

"Yeah, well, I didn't know how to help with all that crying. And I hate staying still on top of that RV."

"What **are** you good at, then?" Andrea snickered.

"I'm good with a gun. Good without one, too." He shot back at her. She glared at him before rolling her eyes and looking back into the woods.

"Soldier?" Daryl asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Joshua grinned.

"Beretta kinda gave you away." Joshua raised an eyebrow at him. Daryl merely shrugged. "My brother had one like it."

"It's the only thing that stuck with me." He looked down at his hand gun, giving it a long gaze.

"Were you discharged?" Andrea spoke up again, this time with a less sarcastic tone.

"Three years ago. I joined the Army when I was eighteen. I did my time." They stayed quiet after that. They heard crickets and small rustling noises, but Daryl assured them that it must have been small animals running away from them.

"You really think we're going to find Sophia?" Andrea whispered. Daryl brought up his light to her face, seeing how solemn it was. He glanced at Joshua, slightly shaking his head as he lowered his flashlight.

"You got that look on your face. Same as everybody else. What the hell is wrong with you people? We just started looking."

"Well, do you?"

"It ain't the mountain of Tibet, it's **Georgia**." Joshua smirked at his comment. "She could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost. They survive. Happens all the time."

"She's only 12."

"Hell, I was younger than her and I got lost. Nine days in the woods eating berries, wiping my ass with poison oak."

Joshua groaned. "Not something I wanted to know."

Andrea let out a laugh, instantly regretting it once Daryl shot her with a look. "They found you?"

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doing another stint in Juvie. Didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back though," He shined his light into the woods. "Walked straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear. Except my ass itched with something awful."

Andrea laughed again, this time a little louder. Daryl gave her a look and she tried to mask her amused face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, that's a terrible story." They all let out a laugh, shaking their heads.

"Only difference is Sophia's got people looking for her. I call that an advantage."

"We'll find her." Joshua said confidently. "Just a matter of time."

* * *

Rustling came from the bushes to their right hand side. Daryl was quick to draw his crossbow, immediately taking a step forward. Andrea tried to provide some light while Joshua stayed behind the two of them, making sure there wasn't any walkers trying to sneak up on them from behind.

Daryl walked deeper into the woods while the other two followed close behind. It didn't take long for them to find a small abandoned tent. There was scattered items everywhere, but no one in sight.

More rustling came from the nearby tree. "What the hell?" Daryl muttered.

A hanging corpse came into their view, it's body continued to swing as it raised it's arms to them.

"Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit." Daryl read from a letter that was nailed onto the tree.

"So poetic." Joshua scoffed, earning a disapproving look from Andrea.

"Dumb ass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head. Turned himself into a big swinging piece of bait. And a mess."

Daryl and Joshua turned back to see Andrea hunched over, groaning. "You alright?"

"Trying not to puke."

"Go ahead if ya gotta."

"No, I'm fine. Let's just...talk about something else for a minute." She heaved again, trying to clear her head. "How'd you learn to shoot?"

"Gotta eat. That's one thing these walkers and us have in common." The walker started growling some more, swinging his arms back and forth as he tried to reach for them. "I guess it's the closest he's been to food since he turned. Hanging up there like a big pinata."

That's when Joshua noticed the man's legs had been torn to pieces. Only blood and bones remained.

"Looks like someone else got here before we did." Joshua nodded towards the walker's legs. "Didn't leave much."

"The other geeks came and ate all the flesh off his legs." Daryl observed.

"At least **someone** had a good meal."

The men turned their head to Andrea again, hearing her puke and cough.

"I thought we were changing the subject." She groaned as she wiped her mouth.

"Call that payback for laughing about my itchy ass."

"There wasn't a lot that came up."

"Huh. Let's head back." Daryl turned around, heading straight for the path they came from.

"Aren't you gonna..." She pointed her flashlight towards the walker.

"No, he ain't hurting nobody. Ain't gonna waste an arrow either. He made his choice. Opted out. Let him hang."

Andrea turned to Joshua, hoping he would do something about it. He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not wasting one of my bullets. Not worth it. I'd rather have this guy hanging here for God knows how long than to attract any more of them to us."

Andrea took a step forward, staring at the hanging man. It's groaning growing louder and louder.

"You want to live now or not?" Andrea turned to Daryl, giving him a shocked face. "It's just a question."

"An answer for an arrow." She decided. "Fair?" Daryl gave her a nod. She looked over at Joshua, feeling uncomfortable under his stare. "I don't know if I want to live or if I have to or it's just a habit."

"Not much of an answer." Daryl steadied himself, aimed his crossbow and shot an arrow into the walkers head. It became limp, it's groans stopping. "Waste of an arrow."

They walked back to highway in silence after that. None of them felt like striking up a conversation, so they continued to trudge on until they reached the RV. They were greeted by Dale. Daryl simply moved passed him and made his way into the RV.

"Andrea, wait." The old man stopped the blonde before she can follow Daryl.

"What do you want, Dale?"

Dale glanced over to Joshua, silently asking him to give them privacy.

"I'll, uh, keep watch." He said, scratching the back of his head as he passed the both of them.

_Something must have happened between those two. Things ain't right. _Joshua thought to himself as he plopped down onto the chair that was on top of the RV. He could hear them trying to keep their voices low. Joshua could have eavesdropped if he wanted to but he didn't really care what was going on with them. It had been a long day and he needed to rest.

When he heard footsteps making their way towards him he thought it would be Dale, but he was surprised to find Andrea taking a seat next to him.

"You mind?" She asked him.

He merely shook his head, keeping his eyes focused towards the forest. He wasn't going to ask and she wasn't going to tell. They sat in silence keeping watch for the rest of the night, not one word spoken.

* * *

"Now don't move." Patricia ordered just as she was going to dig the needle through TDog's wound. He nodded his head, groaning as the needle pierced his skin. "Keep him down, Maggie."

The younger woman nodded her head, keeping a tight hold on TDog's arm. The last thing they needed was for the man to swing his arm around and cause further damage.

"You're doing good. Almost there." Charlie tried to keep TDog positive. With how swiftly Patricia was working, the wound would be closed in just a few short minutes. Charlie stared at the woman with awe as she stitched his wound up.

"You got here right on time. This couldn't go untreated much longer." The older woman said.

Glenn walked into the room just then, an unreadable expression on his face.

"'Merle Dixon'. Is that you're friend with the antibiotics?"

"No, ma'am. Merle is no longer with us. Daryl gave us those. His brother." Daryl had told Charlie he had a brother, but never mentioned him being gone. Why would he? He wasn't close to her so why would he share any personal information with her?

"Not sure I'd call him a friend." TDog heaved, shutting his eyes tight as Patricia continued to work.

"He is today. This Doxycycline might have just saved your life. You know what Merle was taking it for?"

"The Clap." Maggie shot Glenn a look. "Uh, Venereal Disease. That's what Daryl said."

"I'd say Merle Dixon's Clap is the best thing to ever happen to you." Patricia said, pulling at the stitching.

"I'm really trying not to think about that." TDog heaved again, throwing his head back as she dug the needle into his skin once more.

Glenn walked passed them, not wanting to look.

"Do you mind?" Maggie spoke to Charlie.

"Of course not." She stepped forward, taking a hold of TDog's wrist. Maggie followed Glenn out the door.

"Okay, you're all set." Patricia finally said after another minute had passed, earning a sigh of relief from TDog.

"Thank you." He groaned as he pulled his arm away.

"Be careful with those stitches. And we need to change those bandages regularly." TDog nodded his head. "Alright, now go and get some orange juice and try to rest." TDog slowly stood from the chair and headed for the kitchen.

Just as Charlie was going to follow him, Patricia stopped her.

"Now where do you think you're going? It's your turn."

"What?" She muttered in surprise.

"I can see the bandages bulking up underneath your shirt. You didn't do a great job at taking care of it."

"You're hurt?" Maggie suddenly reappeared, an empty cup in her hands.

"I-I'm fine." Charlie tried to reassure them. "It's nothing."

"Let me take a look. It needs to be treated properly. Tell her, Hershel."

They all turned to see the old man walk into the room, his Stethoscope still hanging from his neck.

"You hurt, sweetheart?" He asked with worry. Everyone was now staring at Charlie. Her mouth gaped open with shock.

"My shoulder..." She lifted her hand to lower her shirt to show off the old bandages.

"Maggie, go get Miss Charlotte a button up shirt. I'm going to have to cut her shirt to have better access to her wound. Patricia, some more wet towels and bandages, please." The two women followed orders.

"What's going on?" Rick had appeared next to Hershel.

"Take a seat, please." Charlie gave in and did as she was told. "Your friend here is injured."

"We didn't know." Rick said to Hershel, then turned to Charlie. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's nothing." Charlie repeated herself. She caught Rick making an uneasy face. "No. I didn't get bitten if that's what you want to ask."

"Let's take a look. May I?" He mentioned for his scissors. It was bad enough that she hardly had any clothing, now he had to cut one of her only shirts? She sighed and nodded her head, giving him permission. He cut through both the shirt and bandages.

"Oh god." Rick muttered as he saw the long slash against Charlie's collarbone. It was red with irritation as the ugly stitching stared back at the men.

"I tried my best. My brother helped but...well, it isn't my best work." She said, embarrassed.

"It's infected. I'm going to have to take out the stitches, clean it up and re-stitch it." That's what Charlie had feared. She didn't want this to happen. She wanted her brother with her. She needed him by her side. She was scared.

"It's okay." Rick took a seat next to her and took her hand into his. It was almost as if he sensed her fear. "You'll be alright."

"Ready?" Hershel asked as Patricia showed up with more supplies. Charlie slowly nodded her head and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt Hershel tug at the stitches. She tried not to cry out as he pulled at her skin, the alcohol burned.

"You're doing great." She heard Rick whisper to her, squeezing her hand in comfort. At that point, she didn't notice Maggie, Glenn and TDog walk into the room. She gritted her teeth together, wincing as the needle dug in and out of her skin. She tried to keep still but the pain was too much. She felt herself start to shake.

"There." She heard Hershel say. "We're done."

"How did this happen?" Rick asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Charlie knew this was going to happen but she wasn't ready for it. She opened her mouth to answer, but the words didn't come out. She closed her eyes for a moment, preparing to speak, but she just couldn't.

"That's a story for another time." Hershel intervened, for which Charlie was grateful for. Rick nodded his head, although he was a bit disappointed for not getting an answer.

"You should get cleaned up." Maggie said from behind her. "I got you some clothes. I hope they fit. The bathroom is upstairs."

"Thank you." Charlie smiled at her weakly. She was exhausted. "Excuse me." She passed the small group and walked up the stairs, suddenly relieved that she wasn't the center of attention anymore. She made it to the top of the stairs, but was hesitant to walk into any of the rooms.

"Bathroom is to your left." A voice suddenly said, making Charlie jump. A young blonde haired girl peeked into the hallway from one of the rooms.

"Thanks." Charlie smiled at the girl who she was meeting for the first time that night. "I'm Charlotte."

"Beth." She said, smiling shyly. "Daddy doesn't want me to go downstairs. Maggie said something bad happened." _So she must be Hershel's other daughter._

"Everything will be okay." She reassured the young girl. Her big blue eyes shined as she nodded her head and softly closed the door once again.

Although it was a quick shower, the hot water was pure bliss. Charlie was disgusted as she watched all the dirt and filth wash down the drain. When she stepped out of the shower and looked into the mirror, she almost didn't recognize herself. Her hair was a bit longer now and her skin was now lightly tanned after being under direct sunlight for countless days.

She raised a hand to touch the freshly stitched wound. It was tender, but it felt much better. She tried her best not to strain her shoulder as she dressed herself. The jeans Maggie had given her fit well, along with the button up shirt and undergarments. A couple of months ago, Charlie would have been busting out of the bra but now? It was almost too perfect of a fit.

Charlie gathered her dirty clothes and walked back stairs where she found Glenn and Maggie in the kitchen.

"Hey." They both looked up to her, their faces long. "What's going on."

"Shane is here." Glenn said. "He brought supplies for Hershel. To help Carl." _This is good news, right?_ She wanted to say. _Why so upset?_ It's almost as if Maggie read her mind.

"One of our friends went with him. Otis. Patricia's husband. He didn't make it." She tried to hold back a cry. Glenn wrapped an arm to comfort her.

Charlie didn't know how to process this new information. Carl might live, but the people who were trying to save him had just lost one of their own.

"I'm sorry." Charlie whispered, feeling helpless.

"Here," Maggie wiped her eyes and walked forward, grabbing Charlie's clothes from her. "I'll take care of those." She disappeared out of the room.

"Is Hershel helping Carl now?" Glenn nodded his head.

Once Maggie returned, they sat in silence. Waiting. It felt like an eternity but when the heard the sound of the door opening, they all stood up and walked toward the living room.

"Where are they?" Hershel appeared, wiping his hands clean.

"Out on the porch." Maggie said. They followed the older man out the front door, waiting for him to deliver the news.

"He seemed to have stabilized." He announced. Everybody let out a sigh of relief. Carl was going to be okay. He was going to make it.

Rick walked up the steps and have Hershel a hug, earning a pat from the old man.

"I don't have words." Lori cried in shock.

"I don't either. Wish I did. How do I tell Patricia about Otis?"

Everyone stood silent for a second. Charlie was so happy that Carl had survived that she had almost forgotten a man had lost his life that night.

"You go to Carl." Rick instructed Lori. "And I'll go with Hershel."


	4. Chapter 4: Eyes Wide Open

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I felt like updating so this is what I came up with for now.**

**Work and school prevent me from writing much anymore but I assure you, I'm not abandoning my stories! Please be patient with me and thank you for continuing to read!**

**"Eyes Wide Open" by Gotye.**

* * *

Hershel ordered Charlie and TDog to stay indoors to rest while the others dug Otis' grave. TDog refused and went along with Shane and the others. When Charlie tried to follow him, Hershel stopped her. "You need to rest. Please." He had said. As much as she wanted to help, the old man had the final word.

She sat in silence, drinking water and reading a book when she heard an all too familiar sound. She stood and stared out the window as Daryl's motorcycle and the two other vehicles came into view.

Charlie stepped out onto the front porch, her heart racing as she watched them drive closer and closer to the house. TDog jogged his way over to her.

"Where's Rick?" He asked breathlessly. Charlie could see the sweat drip down his forehead. He needed to take it easy in this heat.

Charlie nodded her head back towards the house. "With his son." TDog stumbled away. Charlie wasted no time in rushing down the steps.

She spotted her brother walking out of the RV and ran to him. He dropped the bags he was carrying and gave her a tight embrace. They had only been apart for a few hours but it felt like an eternity.

"You okay?" He mumbled into her hair.

"Yeah." She sighed, happy to finally see him again. "You?" She pulled away from him and looked him over, hoping not to find a bite or scratch.

"I'm fine." He smiled down at her for a second before Rick and the others caught his attention.

"How is he?" Dale asked the question that was on everybody's mind.

"He'll pull through." Lori answered, a small smile on her face. "Thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane." Rick chimed in. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him."

Dale and Rick exchanged hugs, as did Carol and Lori.

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked again.

"Hunting accident. That's all. Just a stupid accident."

Rick proceeded into telling them the whole story. How everyone at the farm had lost someone dear to them just the night before. Everyone paid their condolences to them, offering any help with burial.

Charlie and Joshua stood by Dale and Glenn as Hershel spoke of Otis. They all stood still and listened; learning about the man who had lost his life.

"Shane, will you speak for Otis?" Hershel asked, catching him off guard.

"I'm not good at it. I'm sorry." Shane mumbled.

"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments." Patricia spoke with a raw voice. "Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."

Shane took a second, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up."

Everyone stared at him as he continued to share his story. "'We've go to save the boy'. See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. 'Run' he said." Shane's voice almost cracked. "He said, 'I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.' And when I looked back..." He stopped, not knowing if he should continue.

He limped forward, grabbing a stone from the rusted and old wheelbarrow. "If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death every had meaning, it was his." Shane placed the stone among the other ones, in memory of the man he spoke of. He stepped aside, signaling the end of his speech.

Hershel finished the service and dismissed everyone, letting Patricia grieve alone in front of Otis' memorial.

The group had decided to set up camp by the RV, just a few yards away from Hershel's house. It was enough distance to give them all a little privacy without being completely isolated.

"How's the shoulder?" Joshua spoke to his sister, setting their backpacks onto the ground.

"Hershel cleaned it up. It feels a lot better." Charlie admitted, rolling her shoulder around as if to prove to him she was telling the truth.

"Good." He responded.

"Maybe you should ask Rick if he needs any help?" Charlie suggested.

Joshua glanced over at the man who was walking toward a baby blue pickup truck, which was surrounded by a small group of people. Hershel being one of them. "Both Rick and Shane can hardly walk, I doubt Hershel wants them to work too hard."

"Yeah, I'll talk to him later. See what I can do. But first," He opened one of their bags, unfolding one of their sleeping bags. "Let's get camp ready."

"We have an extra tent." Lori suddenly showed up next to the siblings, giving them both a scare. "Thought you might need it." She smiled at them kindly. The large, folded up tent looked heavy. Charlie was surprised the woman was able to carry the thing without tipping over.

"Thanks." Joshua responded with surprise, taking it from her hands.

"Have to stick close to each other, right?"

"Right." Charlie nodded her head, smiling at the woman. "Thanks again." With one final nod, Lori turned away from them. She stopped for a second to glance over to Shane, but decided to keep moving toward the RV.

"Hey uhh..." He started, rubbing his now bald head. "I'm gonna have to ask ya to give up your gun."

"Is that right?" Joshua scoffed.

"I know it's a hassle but Rick insists. Hershel ain't too happy about us running around with guns." After a couple of seconds of silence, Shane shook his head at them. "I don't want to give up my weapon either, man. But it's what we gotta do to stay on the farm."

Joshua glanced over to the old man who was finishing up his talk with Rick.

He didn't want to surrender his gun but he didn't want to give Hershel a reason to dislike them. He **did** help his sister out, after all. If he were to give any of them a tough time then he knows Charlie would give him a lecture later.

Joshua sighed, taking his gun out of his holster and handing it over to Shane without another word.

"Thank you." Shane placed the Baretta into a large bag that was occupied with other guns. _Just how many do they have? _"Maybe you guys can join us during our little shooting lesson. Could use someone else with experience to look over these folk."

_Daryl must have told the others about his military background. Either that, or Shane just figured it out on his own. _

That's when Charlie looked at the two men in front of her. Both of them stood with a strong, firm stature. Rick did too, even in his weakened state. Maybe that's why the group trusted Rick and Shane so much. They felt safe. The way Charlie feels whenever she's with her brother.

"Sounds good," Joshua nodded his head in agreement. "Just let me know when."

With one more nod, Shane heaved the heavy bag over his shoulder and walked away.

"Was it just me or did you two just have a conversation without glaring at each other?" Charlie smirked at him.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't mean I wanna be his friend." Her brother defended himself, letting out a grunt as he put two stands for the tent together.

"It's okay to make friends."

"Not with him."

"Rick trusts him." She pointed out to him.

"It doesn't mean **we** should."

They heard someone clear their voice, catching their attention. It was Dale.

"TDog and I are going to check out one of the wells," he said. "We could use an extra set of hands to help out."

Joshua looked over to his sister, silently asking her if he should go.

"You should go help. I can finish up here."

"You sure?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Just go, Josh."

"We won't be too far. Just give us a holler if ya need anything. Don't hesitate to ask the others for help either, okay?"

"Thanks, Dale." Charlie smiled at him. It was really hard not to like him. She stared at the three men as they walked off the campsite. Her eyes immediately looking down at all the pieces of the tent that were gathered on the ground.

After what felt like forever, Charlie was proud of herself when she finished setting up the tent. She was even more relieved knowing her shoulder wasn't giving her too much of a hard time.

She looked over her should to see Glenn staring off into the distance. She followed his gaze and laughed. He was staring at Maggie as she gathered up two of her horses.

"You need a bucket?" She sneaked up behind him.

"Wha?" He said with a puzzled look.

"Do you need a bucket? You're kinda drooling everywhere." She laughed at him.

"Haha, very funny." His words thick with sarcasm.

"She's nice."

"She is." He agreed, a cooked smile on his face. "And pretty."

"Very." Charlie grinned at him. "So when are you going to make your move?"

"W-what? My **move**?"

Charlie couldn't help but laugh at him. "Oh, come on! You like her!"

"Well, I mean..." He sighed, almost as if he had lost a battle. "The world is too complicated for something like that."

"If you're going to keep staring..." Charlie reached into her bag and pulled out some binoculars. "Its best not to strain your vision."

His face turned a slight shade of pink as he accepted the binoculars.

Charlie simply chuckled as she shook her head and walking into her tent. Everything was in its place. Not that there was much to put away in the first place.

She yawned, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. As much as she wanted to curl up in her sleeping bag and take a nap, she knew she couldn't. It wouldnt be fair to those who were working hard to make their stay at the farm more comfortable.

Charlie gave one last longing look to her sleeping bag before walking out of the tent.

She let out a shout of surprise as she was face to face with a horse.

"Holy shit!" Charlie exclaimed, taking a few steps back from the big animal.

"Scared of horses?" Maggie giggled.

"I'm scared of anything that's three times my size." Charlie took one slow step after another until she was close enough to pet one of them. "They're beautiful." The horse let out a loud, comfortable **HUFF** as she continued to pet it.

"Uh, Maggie?" Dale and Joshua approached the small campsite. "There's a problem with one of the wells."

"What kind of problem?"

"I'd rather show you, if you don't mind."

Maggie tied the horses down to the closest tree. "Lead the way."

TDog had called Shane, Lori and Andrea, meeting up with them before they all arrived at their location.

Everyone peered down into the well. Growling and hissing could be heard as everyone peered down into the well.

"Looks like we've got us a swimmer." Dale shined light down the well to illuminate the giant walker that was down below.

"Disgusting." Charlie groaned as the corpse growled at her.

"How long do you think it's been down there?"

"Long enough to grow gills." Andrea answered.

"We can't leave it in there. God knows what it's doing to the water."

"We got to get it out." Shane stated the obvious.

"Easy." TDog spoke up next. "Put a bullet in it's head. I'll get a rope."

"Woah, woah, guys. No." Maggie said in disgust.

"Why not? It's a good plan."

"It's a **stupid **plan." Andrea shot back. "If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing it's brains out will finish the job."

"She's right, can't risk it."

"So it has to come out alive?"

"So to speak." Shane nodded his head.

"How do we do that?"

"Bait." Shane said before looking at Maggie. "Anything we can use to get its attention?"

"Wait here. I'll be back." The farmer's daughter sprinted toward the farmhouse. It didn't take long for her to show up again.

"A canned ham?" Joshua snickered. "You really think that'll work?" Charlie elbowed her brother in the ribs, making him shut up.

"Worth a shot." Shane grabbed the ham from Maggie and, with the help of Dale, wrapped it around some barb wire and attached it to a rope. He lowered the ham down into the well, slowly. Everyone watch with anticipation, waiting for the walker's reaction.

"He's not going for it." Dale said as he peered down the well.

"Cuz a canned ham dont kick and scream when you're trying to eat it." TDog said in a montone voice.

"He's right," Lori spoke next. "There's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards."

"We need live bait." Andrea said, looking right at Glenn.

He sighed, knowing what was going to happen next.

"Alright," he shook his head. "Let's get this over with."

"No," Charlie said with disgust. "You are **not **going down there!"

"What else could we do? That thing needs to get out of there." Shane spit back, earning a sharp look from Joshua. "And besides, Glenn is the best man for the job." He turned to Dale and TDog as they began to pull the rope back up.

"And you're okay with this?" Joshua asked Glenn.

"Has to be someone, right?"

"This is ridiculous." Charlie scoffed.

"I'd appreciate it if you help me **not** get eaten, please." Glenn tried to smile but it faltered.

Joshua shook his head in disapproval but walked over to the group of guys who started manipulating the rope to their advantage.

"I don't like this." Maggie admitted as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

The group had finished fastening the rope around their live bait. Charlie stood back with Maggie, staring at the young man who sat at the edge of the well.

"Nice and slow, please." Glenn said nervously. _I can't believe we're really doing this._

"We got cha."

"Oh, you people are crazy!" Maggie crossed her arms over her chest. Charlie was glad she wasn't the only one thinking how suicidal this was.

"You want to get it out of your well or not?" Shane shouted over his shoulder.

"Give us an eye there, girls." Dale asked them, nodding his head to Glenn.

Both Charlie and Maggie glanced at each other before getting closer to the well. Maggie shook her head as they watched Glenn get lowered into the dark hole.

"You doing okay?" Maggie asked as she leaned into the well.

"Yup, doing great!" Charlie heard Glenn respond.

Charlie turned on her flashlight to see how close Glenn was to the walker. The trick was to get close enough to wrap the rope around it, but far enough to **not **get bitten or scratched.

"Little lower." Charlie announced to the group who were controlling the rope.

"Little more." Maggie encouraged them.

The next couple of seconds were a blur to Charlie. She stared in horror as Glenn drastically dropped down the well, his hands reaching to the sides to try and stop himself from falling any lower.

Everyone was screaming and tugging at the rope. TDog had managed to grab onto the water pump, trying his best to hold onto it. Everyone gathered around him, trying to hold him down and pull the rope. Glenn's screaming become more frantic, causing them to pull harder.

Glenn soon emerged from the well. Shane was the first to jump forward and help pull him out. They all stood around him, trying to catch their breath.

Charlie's shoulder started to throb but she refused to show any discomfort. Her attention was focused solely on Glenn.

"Are you okay?" Charlie whispered to him as Lori rubbed his back in comfort. He simply nodded his head.

"Back to the drawing board." Dale said in disappointment.

"Says you." Glenn huffed as he stood up and handed over the rope to the old man.

They looked at each other in shock and walked toward the well. Sure enough, Glenn had managed to secure the rope around the walker.

"I'll go grab one of the horses to help keep the rope stable." Maggie announced as she ran toward the campsite.

"Alright, guys." Shane took control of the rope, grinning. "Time to get this damn thing outta here!"

"Charlotte! TDog! Keep an eye on the thing!" Dale said as he attached the rope to one of the horses Maggie had arrived with.

They pulled the rope, the growls of the walker echoing at it's sudden movement.

"Come on, guys! Almost there!"

The walker was bloated and looked disgusting. It kept snarling at Charlie and TDog, reaching its arms out towards them. They made sure to keep their distance.

"Easy, easy!" Charlie shouted, noticing how the walker was stuck on the side of the well. Before TDog could let out another word, it was too late. The group had pulled at the corpse, causing it to split in half. It's bottom half fell back into the water, it's intestines infesting the water.

Charlie gagged. The stench was overbearing.

"Great." TDog sighed in frustration as he picked up a pick axe and rammed it into the walker's face ruthlessly. "Good thing we didn't do anything stupid like shoot it." He mumbled when he finished.

At this point Maggie had slowly walked toward her horse, taking it back with her towards the house.

"I, uhh..." Glenn stared after Maggie. "I gotta go. We're going into town." He was quick to follow Maggie.

"I'll handle this." Shane said, wiping the sweat off with his dirty shirt.

"I'll help you. We need to head back to the highway with Carol." Andrea offered. Shane didn't protest.

Charlie stared at the silent walker. It was hard to imagine that this corpse was once a living human being. He probably had friends and a family. How did he end up out here? How did he turn? Did he leave any loved ones behind?

"Come on." Joshua appeared next to Charlie, distracting her from her thoughts. "Let's get back to camp."

_Don't need to tell me twice._ She followed her brother in silence.


End file.
